Servo motors are widely used in the field of motion control in such areas, but not limited to, radio-controlled models, pan tilt units, factory automation, mobile robotics, and walking robots. In particular, servo motors have been employed to manipulate bodies including automobiles, motor boats, airplanes, helicopters, or the like, by controlling their position, speed, or force, among other parameters of motion. In some cases, the servo motors are controlled by wireless means, as is often with models used by hobbyists.
Typically, output from a servo motor is coupled to an arm, sometimes called a “horn”, which rotates about an axis of the servo motor output shaft. Thus, output from such servo motors is rotational even though common applications require only translational motion in one direction. Attempts have been made to capture rotational motion into a linear actuation using servo horns, but there remains room for improvement.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that provides a servo motor that offers linear output to control motion according to the desired position by the operator.